Canada has been listed on a US 'priority watchlist' after concerns were raised about the measures the country has taken to combat online copyright infringement and the trade of counterfeit goods.
In a report into the approach 77 "trading partners" to the US have to the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), the …

Re: Dear US

Fuck the cinema, save the money for buying it secondhand when it's out on dvd/bd and put the rest to a 43" TV for your wall & surround if you don't yet have it. Don't feed Hollywood.

If everyone buys one thing secondhand instead of new you halve their revenue cos they had the initial sale but not the second one, but YOU still get the same media at the same quality. There's only one bunch of people funding these bastards and that's the customers. So stop it.

I've had the USA on my watch list for years

Ohboy.

"The United States remains concerned about the availability of rights of appeal in Canada’s administrative process for reviewing the regulatory approval of pharmaceutical products, as well as limitations in Canada’s trademark regime."

So, now the USA wants to stifle legal process and rights?

Who knew?

Went to Canada for a holiday a while back, loved the country and the people I met there; very laid back and respectful of others. Shame the US is seeking to bugger all that up.

Re: Ohboy.

I am not sure whether that means that the Canadian rules are too strict for US corporations to wriggle around, or whether it means the Canadian system doesn't get suckered by exaggerated claims for losses.

What about China?

All of the problems they say the US has with Canada happen in spades with China will they issue sanctions against China?

No, didn't think so. The US relies too much on China for cheap labour to produce its consumer products and mine it heavy metals needed in production of advanced electronics for it to take any action against China. China could cut off the US industry at the knees and sell it labour force to other countries, sure it would harm their foreign trade but only for a short time. The US are much too reliant on Chinese cheap labour they could not recover for a long time.

And if China were really vindictive and dumped all the American debt they hold onto the word markets it would throw the US beck into the economic stone age.

Re: What about China?

Ironically...

The USA is on the Chinese watch list too.

So how does that work then US? A bigger country with more money and power is 'threatening' you because your laws don't help their companies to make more money....what's that feel like huh? Are you going to give in and change your behavior or tell them to f**k off?

Dear USA

Dear USA,

We very kindly thank you for your interest in our legal processes and standards, and of course we are always glad to receive input on improvements on such matters from such a close neighbour. We feel it right to state in this instance, however, that the US government should just shut the fuck up and keeps its unwanted and corrupt MPAA/RIAA-bought nose out of our fucking business.

1812 and all that

Coincidentally, this comes almost 200 years to the day when the US of A decided that they had had enough of a foreign power dictating trade rules (in part at least) with France. "How dare somebody else tell us what we can and cannot do - we are INDEPENDENT". Not surprisingly the Americans didn't like it one bit a decided to go to war with "the british colonies" AKA Canada, over it.

Now that USA sees themselves as an 'empire' I guess the boot it on the other foot.

Canada Failing To.......

Here we go - again

How can it be

that cases of copyright infringement, which is between two personal or corporate identities, can lead to 'sanctions' between states? If my neighbours Ferrari is parked in front of my garage, can Britain go to war with Italy?

The solution to the American problem is easy: cut all internet connections to and from the outside of the US. And the phones. Stop all flights and shippings in or out. Stops all their trouble with terrorists, pirates, chinamen, illegal immigrants and all the money going abroad.

GATT, TPP, ACTA and all that

The US relentlessly and ruthlessly pursues its commercial and foreign policy objectives and it doesn't give a shit about the collateral damage or anybody else's interests, their hypocrisy is without equal. The watchlist mentioned in the article derives from the Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations (ACTN), which sparked into life in the early 80s, mainly in response to America's decline as a competitive manufacturing nation (and the rise of Toyota, it's always the cars that get to them!). By renegotiating international trade treaties and threatening 'trading partners' with 'sanctions', the US uses its economic might and foreign policy objectives to redefine the value of it's own IP on it's own terms thus applying a patina of legitimisation to its activities, whilst arriving at lopsided outcomes. It's a virtual rerun of the actual gunboat diplomacy it used to use, e.g. against Japan where in 1853 the US Navy 'Black ships' steamed into Uraga harbour and demanded Japan open up to trade. Well hell, they're trying to run an empire here!

Gimp because we've been taking it in the ass from Uncle Sam since Suez.

What happens to border crossing?

If they put massive restrictions on the border with Canada then what happens to the people wanting to flee north over the border for a better life, away from the crumbling economy of their own country?

The USA made it's own mess...

Thirdly: Cry foul, weep and wonder why the impoverished locals in these foreign lands counterfeit your goods, selling first to themselves, then to tourists, then to the world via the internet. All the while devaluing your initial product and making less profit than you would have done if you'd not been so profit oriented in the first place to screw over your own country, it's manufacturing industry and it's workforce, who coincidentally can no longer afford to pay your inflated prices due to having no jobs.

Damn it...

Re: Damn it...

One wonders if...

... the Propellerheads should sue for copyright infringement.

February 2012:

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6338/125/

"In 2010, the World Economic Forum found that global executives actually rank Canadian intellectual property protection ahead of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and most of Europe. The WEF's Global Competitiveness Report ranked Canada 13th for IP protection, including anti-counterfeiting measures. That is ahead of Australia (14th), Norway (16th), United Kingdom (17th), Japan (21st), and the United States (24th)."

"The cables, from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, even have a policy director for then industry minister Tony Clement suggesting it might help U.S. demands for a tough copyright law if Canada were placed among the worst offenders on an international piracy watch list. Days later, the U.S. placed Canada alongside China and Russia on the list. "

Deja vu all over again

This is a perennial story which makes the rounds every time the U.S. government is trying to pressure the Canadian government to adopt the secret ACTA treaty provisions. But it goes all the way back to the late 1800s, when the story of the time was that Canadians were illegally copying U.S. sheet music. We've just had to learn to tune out our neighbours to the south when they show this particular blind spot, complaining about everyone else while being oblivious to their own transgressions.

Uh-oh

Time to appease the US by giving them anything they want again. Luckily two out of two US presidents polled agree that Stephen Harper gives the best rim jobs. Good ol' Steve, working so hard to please his masters. At least he gets to wipe his mouth off with the Canadian flag when he's finished.

Yet Another Round of American Stupidity

The Americans seem unable to understand that Canada is not part of their country. Someone must have not gotten the memo that the War of 1812 ended with the British colonies north of the USA intact.

Canadian copyright and fair use laws are different from those in the U.S. They are not worse. In fact, in many cases they are more restrictive.

It seems that every time the Americans want to force a new round of stupidity on Canada, they begin by issuing one of these sham reports claiming that Canada is some rogue country with no regard for intellectual property or copyright law. It's up to Canadians to decide if they will listen to this stupidity or not.

Canada needs to do it's part

Copyright laws are enforced by all civilized countries and Canada needs to do a better job than it has been doing. There is no point in blaming anyone but the pirates for piracy. Perhaps making piracy a felony with mandatory jail time will educate those who are worth saving. The rest will end up in prison as low lifes unable to live within the laws of society.

Part of a pattern

It's a standard political/economic pressure tactic to remind Canada who is boss. The evidence is not there but many Americans believe that pirated movies all come from Canada. They also still believe that the terrorists responsible for the Sept 11, 2001 attacks crossed the border between Vermont and Ontario, as mentioned on West Wing (Google Map that one!), rather than commuting between Florida and Saudi Arabia for months. A major power failure in 2003 started in Ohio, but was initially blamed on an Ontario power plant. And so it goes.

Sadly, the present regime in Canada is very open to this influence. They are implementing copyright laws influenced by RIAA and MPAA lobby groups. They are giving personal information to the TSA and banning Canadians from domestic flights based on US "no fly" lists, as if they have to seek permission from American authorities before Canadian citizens fly from Toronto to Vancouver.

Re: Part of a pattern

I think most folks are more realistic than you portray them to be. All copyright laws should be enforced. Piracy is a big problem that will require a lot of effort to slow. The first change needs to be serious punishment instead of a slap on the wrist. $10K per copy would be a good start. If you can't pay your fine then it's jail time plus seizure of all tangible assets.

If you're on a U.S. no fly list then you probably have more issues to deal with than piracy.

Fifty-four forty or fight, redux ?

The USG is a tad irritated that it doesn't effectively run the whole globe or even the whole Western Hemisphere (despite, as pointed out by several commentators above, Stephen Joseph Harper's doing everything in his poor power to please his imperial masters). On the other hand, it should be remembered that the distorted view of so-called «intellectual property» (the current version of the enclosure of the commons during the reign of Elizabeth Tudor, in which property held in common by ordinary people was appropriated by the ruling classes) promoted by those who run the US government is a core interest and one on which they hardly intend to compromise, unless they meet a resistance economically, politically - and not least, militarily powerful enough to dissuade them from an invasion....